This blog is well over due for a farm update so I took a quick stroll around the farm on Sunday, May 6th and came back with these pictures to share. We are fortunate to have seven greenhouses at EverGreen Farm which enables us to get a lot of planting done regardless of the weather outside. We've been busy weeding every covered greenhouse space so Shain could plant or prepare rows for transplanting.
I'm asked quite a bit just how early we can plant and even why we don't start planting earlier. One reason is the cold temperatures. Even with a greenhouse, even with row covers, plants need a certain degree of warmth to thrive. Seeds wait patiently in the soil until the temperatures are just right. Shain has kept detailed records of his many years of planting and just about has the timing figured out. Even though the snow melted off the ground early this year, the temperatures for planting weren't necessarily that much ahead of what we've been regularly experiencing, at least that's what the seedlings are telling us. I trust the plants. I think they know what they are doing. But it doesn't mean we don't try our best to coax them along just a little earlier.
Greenhouse 1 was the first greenhouse we built, 10 years ago. It got it's first recovering this past fall. We are really impressed that the plastic can last up to ten years if taken care of properly.
Inside this space, in the two far right rows, are planted beets; next (to the right of the white row cover) are new Chinese cabbage starts; and the row of empty holes will be filled with pac choi transplants this week (did this on Tuesday, May 8th). To the left is more space for succession plantings of beets in the next few weeks.
Greenhouse 2 is where Shain planted our second crops of Japanese turnips and radishes (two rows on the left). This is also where the first plantings of carrots and beets are growing (next several rows to the right). Looks like we've got a healthy batch of weeds growing in there too. We'll have to get after that.
Greenhouse 3 is also fully planted. Left to right: salad greens, spinach, yellow and red onions, leeks, Swiss chard, head cabbage, and kale. This space is about 130 feet long. One row grows a lot!
We are still working on finishing the ends of greenhouse 4. We hope to have it finished this week and to get the cover on soon after. Of course, we'll have to weed out the patches of quack grass before Shain can get it ready for planting.
Greenhouse 5 is used as our seed starting area during the earliest part of the season. We start most of everything we grow from seed, either in seed flats to transplant or sewn directly into the soil with an Earthway Seeder.
Greenhouse 6, or sometimes called the big tomoato greenhouse, is where many of the seed flats are kept as the seeds germinate and grow large enough to transplant. We keep a long row of them on the southern side for maximum sun and warmth. This row is protected every night with multiple layers of covering, sometimes as many as 6 row covers on the coldest nights. Happy to say we haven't lost any tender seedlings despite freezing temperatures.
Last, is greenhouse 7. This was the area we weeded and planted in first this season. From left to right: arugula, two rows of various salad greens, Japanese turnips, radishes, pac choi, more turnps, Chinese cabbages, and more arugula. Again, you can see the row covers we pull over the plants on nights with threatening temperatures.
Things can change quickly on the farm, given enough workers, a nice sunny day, or both. Even after I've taken these pictures these greenhouses already look a little different. I'm happy to report I've seen more growth in the plants and we've managed to work in some more transplanting and weeding.
Tara
